Coming into Saturday night, the Brewster Whitecaps were undefeated at 6-0, while the Orleans Firebirds were faltering from a three-game skid. But after Sunday night’s matchup, the roles had reversed and the scripts had officially flipped.

The Birds completed the unexpected, edging past the Whitecaps, 6-2, in front of a Brewster crowd at Stony Brook Field. While the Whitecaps have lost their last two games, the Birds are now 2-0 in their last two.

“I think yesterday got it going for us, just with the win,” Sebastian Pisacreta (Pittsburgh) said. “Being 2-0 before the break is something we wanted, and we got it today.”

And the box score suggests that the win wasn’t because of just one specific player, but rather a team effort.

“The thing I really liked tonight is that everyone contributed,” Firebirds manager Kelly Nicholson said. “We got a lot of guys in, so it was a really good team win.”

Despite being held to two consecutive 1-2-3 innings to start the matchup, Orleans wasn’t too fazed. In fact, it only motivated the Birds to get on the board even more.

What really kickstarted the Firebirds was not a hit, but rather a defensive double play that ended the bottom of the second.

After Drew Rogers (Georgia Tech) grounded out, Carson Kerce (Georgia Tech) sprinted to second, while Rogers made his dash to first. But they never made it.

Before they could, Elijah Ickes (Hawaii) sent the ball flying to second baseman Luke Nixon (NC State), who sent it back to Michael O’Shaughnessy (Georgia) at first, resulting in a double play.

While the Birds were unable to convert off both a Alejandro Garza (Cal Poly) and Dawson Bryce (Charlotte) single, that didn’t stop them.

Itsuki Takemoto (Hawaii) shut down any of Brewster’s offensive pressure by holding the Whitecaps to a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third. In his four innings, Takemoto allowed one hit and three walks.

“Itsuki Takemoto threw the ball well, he competed, there was some traffic, and he got us out of some jams,” Nicholson said. “He gave us four innings, which was big tonight.”

In the top of the fourth, the Whitecaps were no longer able to contain the Birds.

With Owen Proksch (Duke) on the mound for Brewster, he allowed a Michael Crossland (UC San Diego) walk to start the inning. Pisacreta followed Crossland with a walk of his own.

An Ikes bunt would then change everything.

Singling with no outs on the board, Ikes scored Crossland and advanced Pisacreta to third. Yet, he wasn’t done. Making the most of a throwing error by Rogers, Ikes booked it to second.

Replacing Proksch, Alex Philpot (Florida) now stood on the mound.

However, it didn’t take long for Orleans to get to him. On his first pitch, a Garza single scored Pisacreta and Ikes — bringing the Birds to a 3-0 lead.

Nothing changed until the seventh inning, as both pitching staffs limited any possible damage by their opponents.

Until they couldn’t anymore.

Having two outs on the board, O’Shaughnessy walked. Following a wild pitch by Chase Davis (South Alabama), O’Shaughnessy found himself on second.

After being hit by a pitch, Crossland followed with a walk of his own. Soon enough, the bases were loaded as Pisacreta walked to first.

Instead of earning a run off a hit, Orleans notched another walk. As Ikes walked to first, O’Shaughnessy walked back home, bringing the Firebirds to a 4-0 lead.

The bottom of the seventh was less hopeful for the Birds, though, as it seemed as if Brewster was on track to make a comeback.

After Manny Marin (Tennessee) reached on a fielding error and a Collin Priest (Clemson) single, Kerce notched a single, bringing Marin home.

However, it wasn’t just one run that would come. A Ty Head (NC State) single scored Priest on the play, as the Whitecaps cut their deficit in half.

Thankfully for the Birds, that was all Brewster had in the tank.

In the bottom of the seventh, Logan Reddemann (San Diego) replaced Truman Pauley (Harvard).

“Truman Pauley threw the ball really, really well tonight,” Nicholson said. “He’s going to be a great bridge guy for us.”

Following Pauley, Reddemann had himself an outing, keeping the Whitecaps to a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

The ninth was all about the Birds, as Ikes and Pisacreta tacked on another two runs.

Reddeman wanted in on the action, too, closing out the bottom of the ninth inning with another 1-2-3 inning.

“Logan Reddeman was Logan Reddeman, you know exactly what you are going to get with him,” Nicholson said. “He was really, really, really good tonight.”

According to Ikes, the formula for a Firebirds’ win is clear.

“Tonight we just played the kind of baseball that we should play,” Ikes said. “If we can just do the little things like we did today, it shows on the scoreboard, and that’s how we win games.”